Life After Death/Issue 22
Bart, Matt, Eric, and Andre spent an hour travelling deeper into the forest. They made sure to keep a look out for movement in the trees, but still stuck together. "So, if you don't mind me asking, what...exactly happened to you guys?" Bart asked. "You said you guys got attacked, but didn't really expand on that." "Bart, they don't need to tell us if they don't want to," Matt said. "I know, just curious." "There was this group," Eric said. "They were like bandits...except they let their victims come to them. Forced people to give their supplies up to get passed. We didn't, and we got into a war. Lost a few of ours. Brie lost her dad, Morgan lost her boyfriend, and Dolph found out his sister was killed a while back." "Shit, man. That's rough." "We haven't been the same since then. It's...kind of broken us." "I can imagine," Matt said. "But, you'll move on eventually. It just takes time." "Yeah..." The four men returned to silence as they scouted the forest. That silence, however, suddenly disappeared as they heard multiple shots ring out in the distance. "What the hell was that?" Andre questioned with a concerned tone. "Gunshots," Bart replied. "Thanks, Einstein." "You're welcome. Don't worry about them, they sound far off. Probably some other survivors dealing with the biters." "You're sure they won't be a problem?" Eric asked. "What about those bandits you mentioned?" "There were only a few of them, and if we did run into them, we're armed. I think we'd be fine." "Don't worry," Matt said. "Like Bart said, the bullets sounded like they were quite a ways away. At least half a mile." "I hope you're right." ---- Back at the camp, Gregory, Dolph, Ike, and Rachel were having a conversation near the RV, while the rest of the group were sitting around the fire. "...this place, it's just not safe," Gregory pointed out. "You get fences to keep the rotters out, but we have no protection from...you know, human threat." "We've been here for almost two months," Ike said. "And we've only been attacked once, and that was very recently." "It just doesn't feel comfortable here, you know? I don't mean to tell you how to run this place, but I think we'd be better off with walls...or somewhere else." "We've been thinking about moving for a while," Rachel said. "But I think, for now, at least, we're going to try to make the best of what we've got. We really have no other place to go, and I sure as hell don't want to wander around for days, desperately searching for another place to set up a camp." "I don't think you quite understand," Dolph rudely stated. "We got some crazy fucking, three fingered son of a bitch and his lackeys likely still trying to kill us, and that group of bandits you mentioned, half of us walking around unarmed, and you're just going to sit here...and what? Wait for them to attack before you get off your asses and find somewhere safer?" "Dolph-" Gregory started but was cut off. "No, this place is shit. A couple tents and an RV isn't going to protect us from an army of 50, bloodthirsty people." "It's been a month, Alvin is not looking for us." "Better to be safe than sorry." "Look," Rachel said. "If you don't like how I run things, you're welcome to grab your shit and leave." "I think I might just take you up on that offer. Where's my crowbar? And my gun?" "Dolph, don't be like this," Gregory said as Rachel went into the RV. "You're a better person than that." "Oh, fuck off, Gregory. Stop judging people. I know it was your job and all, but the past is the past. You're just being fucking irritating." "I'm not judging you, I'm telling it how it is. I know you, Dolph, and I know you're not one to walk out on something because things aren't going your way." "Clearly you don't know me that well." Rachel came out of the RV holding the crowbar and pistol Ike had taken from them earlier that day. Dolph grabbed them and started walking off. ---- Back in the forest, the four men continued to walk through the forest. "So...what did you guys do before the world went to shit?" Bart asked Eric and Andre. "I was a firefighter," Andre said. "Sounds fun." "Nah. Wasn't the most interesting job, I didn't get a lot of big calls. Usually just small house fires." "I was a welder working down south. That shit got pretty damn fun." "No kidding?" "We'd pull pranks on each other all the time. It was a hoot." "I was a hunter," Matt said. "Pretty self explanatory. Hunted elk, deer, moose, you name it." "What about you, Eric?" "Oh, well, uh..." Eric started. "I worked...at a Sport Chek." "Really, man?" Andre asked, surprised. "I figured you more for...a cop." "Never was interested in that crap; too dangerous. Heh, seems kind of ironic in hindsight." "Shh," Matt said as he readied his rifle. He looked down the sights, and at the end was a deer about twenty feet away from them. The group went silent as Matt took the shot. *BOOM* The bullet went right over the deer's head as it ran off deeper into the forest. "Shit," Matt said. "Should have gone for the heart." "What was that about being a hunter?" Bart said in a sarcastic tone. "Yeah, yeah, let's see you do better." ---- Gregory followed Dolph, who walked toward the opening in the fence. "Dolph, stop with this bullshit," Gregory said. Dolph stopped and turned around. "You want to put your trust in these strangers?" he asked. "You want to sit around in a defenseless camp and sing campfire songs with them? You want to get shot by some bandits who come back for the rest of their supplies? Fine. But I ain't sticking around for that. No, I'm not letting myself die because I was too stupid to see that this place isn't fucking safe." "Dolph, you're overreacting." "Am I, Gregory? Am I really? You claim to be so intelligent, well look around. Is what you see safe?" "Have you stopped to think that we could actually convince these people to find somewhere else? Have you stopped to think about what you'd do out there by yourself? Because I sure as shit am not following, and I know nobody else is, either." "I don't want to sit around a fire while there are a bunch of people running around outside these fences with guns." "Like I said, we can try to convince them once Eric and Andre get back. Just stick around until then, please." "Fine, but if they decide to stay here like sitting ducks, I'm out." The two men walked back to the fire. Dolph sat down beside Devon, and Gregory sat on a chair off to the side. "You alright?" Devon asked, noticing Dolph's enraged expression. "I'm fine," Dolph coldly replied. ---- After a solid half hour, the four men finally spotted another deer in the forest. "Alright," Matt whispered. "I got this." Matt aimed the gun, lined up his sights, this time at the deer's torso, and fired. *BOOM* The bullet struck the deer in the heart, killing it, and knocking it's body to the ground. "I take back what I said," Bart said. The group walked over to the deer, and started to grab it, when Andre looked into the distance. "Oh fuck," he said. A horde of rotters, about 200 strong, was approaching them. "Come on, help me carry this thing," Matt said. The four men picked the deer up and started carrying it away, but before they could walk off, a rotter managed to get close to them. Matt attempted to reach for his hunting knife, but got bit on the arm by the rotter. "No!" Eric yelled as he dropped the deer. He grabbed his machete, pulled the rotter away, and stuck the blade in it's head. He then killed two more that had started to near them. "Fuck...let's go!" Matt said as he grabbed his end of the deer. Eric picked up his end, and the four ran off into the forest. Credits * * * * * * * * * Deaths *None